President Trump announced early Saturday that the United States had successfully captured Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, following what he called a "large-scale strike."
The news comes following numerous reports overnight of several explosions rocking Caracas and the surrounding areas. It also comes within 48 hours of Maduro saying he was "ready" to make a drug-trafficking deal with the President in the hopes that the United States would end its military pressure campaign.
The wise option would appear to have been to try to make a deal long before kicking off 2026.
"The United States of America has successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolás Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country," Trump said on his Truth Social media platform. "This operation was done in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement."
Trump also announced there will be a press conference from Mar-a-Lago later today to provide more details on the operation.
STATEMENT FROM PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP pic.twitter.com/nHDqtsqRFh
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) January 3, 2026
READ MORE: Maduro Says He's Ready to Play 'Let's Make a Deal'
Trump Administration Just Put a Massive $50 Million Bounty on a Dictator’s Head
Reports overnight indicate that multiple explosions rocked Caracas, with the Washington Post indicating the strikes included military installations such as Fuerte Tiuna and Generalissimo Francisco de Miranda Air Base.
The Post also alleges that eyewitnesses saw blasts near the port of La Guaira, Venezuela’s main port. There has been no official confirmation yet from the White House regarding the precise location of the strikes or why they were carried out.
Numerous videos have surfaced online purporting to show plumes of smoke, flashes, and sounds of blasts, though their authenticity cannot be independently confirmed at this time.
Footage shared by Reuters shows explosions and smoke at the air base.
Video footage captured explosions and smoke rising from Generalissimo Francisco de Miranda Air Base in Caracas as US strikes rocked Venezuela’s capital https://t.co/w6dGatSfQY pic.twitter.com/7hQm9N24NP
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 3, 2026
CBS News, citing U.S. officials, reports that the daring capture of Maduro was executed by none other than the elite warriors of the U.S. Army's 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta—better known as Delta Force.
Delta Force is America's premier counterterrorism and high-value target unit.
JUST IN: 🇻🇪 Close up footage of explosions in Caracas, Venezuela.#Venezuela #VenezuelaLibre #Trump pic.twitter.com/bcvryiqaWA
— Kalesh club (@Kaleshpoint) January 3, 2026
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) claimed to have spoken with Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the operation in Venezuela, with the latter reportedly saying Maduro will face "criminal charges" on American soil.
Lee also indicated that his takeaway is that this was less a military strike and more an effort to help support law enforcement as they arrested Maduro, something Trump hinted at in his statement.
"Just got off the phone with [Secretary Rubio]," Lee wrote on X. "He informed me that Nicolás Maduro has been arrested by U.S. personnel to stand trial on criminal charges in the United States, and that the kinetic action we saw tonight was deployed to protect and defend those executing the arrest warrant."
Just got off the phone with @SecRubio
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) January 3, 2026
He informed me that Nicolás Maduro has been arrested by U.S. personnel to stand trial on criminal charges in the United States, and that the kinetic action we saw tonight was deployed to protect and defend those executing the arrest warrant… https://t.co/lXCxhPoKSZ
Lee, in a follow-up post, suggested that Rubio indicated the capture of Maduro and his wife marks an end to further action in Venezuela.
Rubio has yet to issue an official statement as of the time of this posting. However, he did share a social media post from July in which he declared Maduro was "NOT the President of Venezuela."
"Maduro is the head of the Cartel de Los Soles, a narco-terror organization which has taken possession of a country," he had written, "and he is under indictment for pushing drugs into the United States."
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) January 3, 2026
President Trump in October revealed to reporters that Maduro had "offered everything" to persuade the United States to back off amid escalating American strikes on suspected drug trafficking boats.
Trump offered an expletive-laced and frank assessment of the dictator's attempts to get the United States to take its foot off the gas in disrupting narco-terrorists' operations.
"He has offered everything. He's offered everything. You're right. You know why?" Trump replied. "Because he doesn't want to f*** around with the United States."
WOAH — President Trump dropped a BOMB.
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) October 17, 2025
REPORTER: "Pres. Maduro offered mediation...to you."
POTUS: "He has offered everything. He has offered everything. You know why? Because he doesn't want to f*ck around with the United States."
BOOM. 💥🚨 pic.twitter.com/JlxOgYQhLZ
The President at the time had reportedly approved covert CIA operations inside Venezuela. Two months earlier, the administration raised the bounty on Maduro to a staggering $50 million.
Attorney General Pam Bondi accused Maduro of using foreign terrorist organizations to "bring deadly violence to our country," adding that he is "one of the largest narco-traffickers in the world and a threat to our national security."
The Justice Department, according to Bondi, seized over $700 million in assets linked to Maduro, including two private jets, and 30 tons of cocaine, with nearly seven tons directly tied to him.
⚡️⚡️‼️🇺🇸🇻🇪 Video showing explosions in Venezuela's capital of Caracas after the US attack
— International Relations (@Intl_Relations0) January 3, 2026
pic.twitter.com/OqofRm2GV0
Maduro had criticized Trump for going after him, accusing the CIA of engaging in "coups" and suggesting it is reminiscent of "failed eternal wars" in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The dramatic overnight operation could very well mark the effective end of one of the Western Hemisphere's most enduring socialist dictatorships—a regime that has presided over economic collapse, mass exodus, and widespread human rights abuses for over a decade.
As this situation is rapidly developing, RedState will keep readers updated as events warrant.
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